Month: Apr 2024

Sport Results

This past Saturday, 23 March, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet learner Ben Lemke participated in the NMB Bellbuoy Challenge in Gqeberha.

𝗔𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟱, 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿’𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀.

The NMB Bellbuoy Challenge, a 5km Indian Ocean swim event, is renowned as one of the toughest ocean swims in the world. Held in the waters of Algoa Bay off Pollock Beach, this thrilling competition tests the endurance, skill and mental fortitude of its participants.

The swim to the buoy, covering a distance of 2.5km, can be relatively easy on a good day. However, the currents around the buoy can significantly impact the swim back, often doubling the time it takes to return. Moreover, the deep-sea environment adds to the challenge, as swimmers must confront the unknown beneath them, including the presence of thirty-two species of sharks.

𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟯𝟴 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟭𝟴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵.

Ben’s performance was truly exceptional, as he secured an impressive 13th place overall, completing the challenge in an incredible time of 1 hour, 23 minutes and 38 seconds.

Ben was supported by his father, 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁, who also participated in the race and achieved a commendable 50th place overall, finishing in a time of 1 hour, 42 minutes, and 55 seconds.

Additionally, 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, a fellow Graaff-Reinetter, showcased her determination by completing the challenge in a time of 2 hours, 38 minutes and 8 seconds.

𝘉𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘔𝘉 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘰𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Sport Results

Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s u/16A hockey team recently had the opportunity to participate in Pearson High School’s annual 𝗨/𝟭𝟲 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 in Gqeberha.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.

The team kicked off the festival with some tough competition, facing off against Collegiate and DSG. Although they put up a valiant effort, they unfortunately fell short in both encounters. Undeterred, they returned the next morning to take on Woodridge, but luck was not on their side as they suffered another loss.

The team’s fortunes, however, began to change as they faced Brandwag in a thrilling match that ended in a goalless draw. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵-𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.

Determined to turn things around, the team showed great resilience and determination in their subsequent matches. Despite battling through the pouring rain, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣, 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙗𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙞𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨, with a scoreline of 2-0 in each match.

Overall, the team’s performance at the Pearson festival showcased their perseverance and ability to adapt to different playing conditions. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧-𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚-𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚.

Sport Results

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to Union High School, Graaff-Reinet learners, sisters Jenelle and Shana Theron, as well as little Reece Gibbons, who participated and did exceptionally well at the recent 𝗦𝗻𝗲𝗲𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗹 𝗠𝗧𝗕 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲.

The 25km Girls’ category, saw Jenelle, a Grade 11 learner, emerging as the frontrunner, securing the 1st place position. Not far behind was Shana, a Grade 5 learner, who claimed 2nd place. Reece Gibbons, also a Grade 5 learner, secured the 3rd place spot.

In addition to winning the Girls’ category, Jenelle also secured the 1st place overall among all the competing women, while Shana and Reece claimed the 1st and 2nd spot, respectively, in the u/12 age group.

𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨!

Sport Results

The Union High School, Graaff-Reinet u/13A hockey team returned from Bloemfontein today, after participating in the 𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗦 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 over the past four days.

On 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭, the girls got off to a great start by defeating Paarl’s Panorama Primary School u/13B side with a score of 6-0.

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮 brought an exciting match against Laer Volkskool, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

Union then faced off against ECHS Marco and secured a victory with a 1-0 score.

Unfortunately, the girls had a challenging game against ECHS Recta and lost by a margin of 5-0.

On 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯, the team faced another tough opponent, Paarl Gimnasium, and suffered a narrow defeat of 1-0. They followed this with a 0-0 draw against Panorama Primary School’s u/13A side.

In their final match of the tournament on 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰, Union faced off against Panorama Primary School’s u/13A side – once again – for the 3rd and 4th place.

𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 1-0, 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 4𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to goalie Abonani Matushe, who was announced as the ‘𝙪/13 𝙂𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩’ during Sunday evening’s prizegiving ceremony.

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘶/19𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘰𝘰𝘭’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭’𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘧.

Sport Results

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s 1st hockey team who emerged as the champions of the highly-anticipated ECHS hockey tournament held in Bloemfontein this past Easter weekend.

𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 12 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

During the 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀, they faced off against Hoërskool Heidelberg and secured an impressive 4-1 win. Although they suffered a setback with a 0-3 loss to ECHS Invitational, they showcased their resilience by holding Randburg High School to a dynamic 0-0 draw.

Moving into the 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆-𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀, the Union team faced formidable opponents. Despite a challenging match against Hoërskool Hugenote resulting in a 0-2 loss, they rebounded with a 1-0 victory over Hoërskool Upington. The team continued their winning streak, defeating Potchefstroom Gimnasium 1-0 and holding the ECHS Invitational team to a gripping 0-0 draw. Their journey to the finals was sealed with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Hoërskool Transvalia.

The 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 saw the Union girls face off against Hoërskool Hugenote once again. The match ended in a nail-biting 0-0 draw, leaving spectators on the edge of their seats. However, it was the Union side who ultimately emerged victorious during an exhilarating shootout, showcasing their nerves of steel and unwavering determination.